The father wanted his son to go to Lacy Elementary because just 50 yards down the street is a daycare that is prepared to deal with the child's type 1 diabetes. They put in a request with Wake County Schools for a medical transfer, but had that request denied.
Instead, the school district gave the family the choice of two different schools. The problem was that both parents work and the after-school programs offered by the YMCA in both locations said they were unable to administer the insulin shots the little boy needs.
As a result, the family filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice maintaining that the YMCA is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The YMCA said they cannot comment on specifics, but did say: "We do strongly deny that we are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and we take this situation very seriously."
The family says they don't understand why the YMCA won't train its staff to deal with the child's disease.
"It's not that difficult to train, it's not that difficult to accommodate. If parents like us that never had to deal with it can all of a sudden be trained to do it, anybody else can be trained," father Bruce Hatcher said.
Hatcher told ABC11 he initially just wanted his son to be able to go to a school where he could have adequate care, he is glad this happened. Now he can fight on behalf of all parents who might have children who have diabetes. He wants to make sure their after-school programs are equipped to handle the disease.
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